Hey guys. I moved to NE Oklahoma here a year ago and haven't done much water hunting that they do down here (I'm more familiar with field hunting). I don't have access to a boat or a dog and was thinking about hunting a large lake from a canoe. I'm not talking staying in the canoe and shooting the ducks, I'm thinking more along the lines of using a canoe to retrieve or setup/clean up dekes or get to those hard to reach places.

Does anybody here hunt larger bodies of water with canoes? What things do I need to look out for? What are some things that I need/don't need? Any advice?

I’ve used my canoe or my kayak many a time on big water, in my case the coastal bays of New Jersey. First and foremost, pay attention to the weather forecast. Don’t hunt this way if conditions might get dicey. Second, make sure you have a quality PFD and WEAR it. It serves little purpose in the bottom of the canoe. I teach canoeing at the park I work at and one of the drills we do during the summer clinics is have the kids try to put the PFD’s on while in water over their head. It’s near impossible and even harder after the shock of going into cold water.

As for the canoe, a longer one will be easier for one person to handle on big water than a shorter one, opposite of what some might think. Longer boats track or maintain course against a stiff better and maintain more freeboard while carrying a heavy load. Don’t sit in the stern seat if alone. The bow will catch the wind and spin you. Sit in the middle to keep the boat level or else sit in the front seat facing the rear. This will put you closer to the center than you would be in the rear seat. Your decoys and other gear in front of you should level out the boat nicely.

Also, if you will be going alone, get a good kayak paddle in addition to your canoe paddles. With a canoe paddle, your power stroke is followed by a recovery stroke, which places the paddle back in front of you. With a kayak paddle the recovery on one side is coupled with a power stroke on the other. It is twice as efficient as using a canoe paddle. This may not be classic canoe paddling but it is less exhausting when paddling on open water.

Lastly, bring an entire change of clothes in a quality dry bag. You may go dozens of times without needing it but when you do you will be thankful.

Thanks for all the tips RustyGunz!! Appreciate it! I still got a few more questions for ya.

Do you ever hunt with another guy in your canoe? What is a reasonable distance that you travel in your canoe for hunting? Do you use your canoe as a blind or do you ditch it and hunt from somewhere nearby?

I think I'm going to like doing this canoe hunting deal. I'm gonna try and head out here in a few days and check out the lake and scout around for some good looking land. Any other advice?

Two in a canoe is no problem. I may have gotten the impression for some reason that you were hunting alone. I’ve gone out with two adults, a lab, decoys, guns and everything else normally hunted with. Just don’t overload the boat. It gets tippier the heavier you load it. A heavily loaded boat will also tire you out sooner as well. There is no maximum distance for the boat, only for you. Don’t paddle out any farther than you want to paddle back when tired at the end of the day. I’ve never hunted from my canoe. I use a Barnegat Bay Sneakbox for that style of hunting. I drag my canoe off where it can’t be seen and then hunt from either a blind or from a pond box if the surrounding vegetation is low.

I hunt Oologah lake out of my canoe all the time, if you watch the wind and stay in or near the coves it works great. I've even used it as a layout in the middle of the lake, granted the water smooth as glass, but it was fun.